Informative Essay: Computer Technology In The Fire Service
Computer Technology in the Fire Service
Brent Lefebvre Mount Wachusett Community College
Abstract
This abstract will discuss how computer technology is used in the fire service today.
I will clarify how in today’s world everything revolves around technology, mainly computer technology. In the fast paced world we live in, everyone is looking for a way to help get the job done faster and easier, including the fire service. The fire service continues to adopt new procedures and methods associated with the use of computers and computer controlled devices. On a typical work day, I come in contact with a minimum of five pieces of technology that in some way, shape or form has something to do with a computer, most occasions …show more content…
it is more than five. My online degree in Fire Science will depend on the use of computers. Through the continuous advancement of computer technology, the fire service will continue to implement the newest technology available to make the job safer for both firefighter and citizens.
Computers in the Fire Service
Before computers, all documents for the fire service were either hand written or typed on a typewriter. Today, everything is done on a computer. At their most basic level, computers are used as a means to create documents or to type reports. In recent years, certain tools and pieces of equipment common to the fire service have evolved and taken on characteristics as a result of the advancements in computer technology. Everything from gas meters to our radios and even our fire trucks have computers associated with them.
Fire trucks, whether they be an Engine, Rescue, or a Ladder or Tower truck all have things on them that require the use of some form of computer technology. Engines, or the truck with the water pumps, use this technology to do things like run the motor. The motor’s control computer tells the motor how much fuel to use based on air flow and how hard the accelerator is pushed. It also controls the rate at which the cylinders fire, and when the cooling fans turn on and off. The speedometer also gets its information from the computer. The trucks pump uses the computer to tell it how much water it is flowing and how much it has flowed. The mixture of foam concentrate is also controlled by a computer. The power systems are monitored by computers and at any point a computer can be connected to the Engine and any of the parameters can be changed or modified. Ladder trucks and Towers use computers to control their sticks (ladders). Rescue trucks use them to monitor air supply, keep track of vital signs on a patient or even to shock the patient back to life. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) extend the capabilities of maps, making them intelligent, interactive maps with all sorts of information available on them.
When responding to calls of gaseous odors or carbon monoxide alarms activated, we rely on the use of a four-gas meter.
This meter is essentially a small handheld computer that monitors the atmosphere that it is in and determines the levels of four pre-calibrated gases to indicate to the firefighter is it is safe to be there or not. It helps us to detect faulty heating appliances by telling us if the appliance is burning its fuel completely or not. Without these gas meters a simple call would turn into a two hour ordeal while we tried to find out what was wrong instead of being able to look at the screen and see exactly what we …show more content…
have.
Communication is one of the most important aspects of a successful mitigation of a fire incident. The ability to communicate with each other, dispatch, and incident command is very important to the life safety of all personnel on scene. The radios we use to establish this communication are all a result of the advancements in computer technology. The radios broadcast over a bandwidth, bounce off repeaters, and display information right on the screen of dispatch computers. All of our radios, portable or base, are programmed using computer software.
Computers are used in the firehouse as well. Creating everyday documents, incident reports, or even updating the fire department website are all daily activities we use computers for in the fire service. We keep track of all the vehicle and equipment maintenance, training documents, personnel records and payroll using computers. Currently there is an app for my smartphone called IAMResponding. This app is used as a dispatch tool to call in off duty personnel. Both the fire department I work for and the Technical Rescue team I am on use this app. If you don’t have a smartphone the system still will call your regular phone or send a text message and email to you. There is another app called EDispatch, this app calls you and plays the dispatch message over your phone. It’s completely automated and controlled by a computer system.
Fire alarm systems are also utilizing today’s technology. In my city we just replaced all of our hardwired call boxes with digital dialers. This means that when the alarms at a monitored building activate, the dialer “calls” the dispatch center and the alarm message pops up on dispatches computer screen. Occupants don’t even have to call 911, although we still encourage you to call the number.
Computers and the technology associated with them are constantly evolving. The future of the fire service will undoubtedly be inundated with this technology. The other day I was looking through a fire service magazine and saw an ad for a special helmet. This helmet had a flip-down eye shield that displayed certain information for the firefighter to use. Information like room temp, direction of travel, amount of air left in his SCBA, and even thermal imaging so that the firefighter can see through the smoke. I believe that before too long we will have systems that integrate building plans, thermal imaging, GPS tracking and a whole assortment of information for firefighters to use and make our jobs just that little bit easier.
References
02, J.
(1999, July 2). Firefighters Use Computers to Prevent Flames. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 24, 2014, from http://articles.latimes.com/1999/jul/02/local/me-52206
GIS Technology and Applications for the Fire Service . (n.d.). ESRI. Retrieved May 5, 2014, from http://www.esri.com/library/whitepapers/pdfs/fire-service-gis-applications.pdf
ICMA: Leaders at the Core of Better Communities. (n.d.). How Police and Fire Department Use Computers For Training. Retrieved March 24, 2014, from http://icma.org/en/BlogPost/1568/How_Police_and_Fire_Department_Use_Computers_For_Training
Kleane, B. J., & Sanders, R. E. (2008). Structural firefighting: strategy and tactics (2nd ed.). Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
News. (2010, August 15). New system shaves time for Rialto Fire Department. Retrieved March 24, 2014, from http://www.sbsun.com/general-news/20100816/new-system-shaves-time-for-rialto-fire-department
Raney, R. (1998, October 14). Fighting Fire With Technology as Computers Help Out. The New York Times. Retrieved March 24, 2014, from
http://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/15/technology/fighting-fire-with-technology-as-computers-help-out.html
Brent Lefebvre Mount Wachusett Community College
Abstract
This abstract will discuss how computer technology is used in the fire service today.
I will clarify how in today’s world everything revolves around technology, mainly computer technology. In the fast paced world we live in, everyone is looking for a way to help get the job done faster and easier, including the fire service. The fire service continues to adopt new procedures and methods associated with the use of computers and computer controlled devices. On a typical work day, I come in contact with a minimum of five pieces of technology that in some way, shape or form has something to do with a computer, most occasions …show more content…
it is more than five. My online degree in Fire Science will depend on the use of computers. Through the continuous advancement of computer technology, the fire service will continue to implement the newest technology available to make the job safer for both firefighter and citizens.
Computers in the Fire Service
Before computers, all documents for the fire service were either hand written or typed on a typewriter. Today, everything is done on a computer. At their most basic level, computers are used as a means to create documents or to type reports. In recent years, certain tools and pieces of equipment common to the fire service have evolved and taken on characteristics as a result of the advancements in computer technology. Everything from gas meters to our radios and even our fire trucks have computers associated with them.
Fire trucks, whether they be an Engine, Rescue, or a Ladder or Tower truck all have things on them that require the use of some form of computer technology. Engines, or the truck with the water pumps, use this technology to do things like run the motor. The motor’s control computer tells the motor how much fuel to use based on air flow and how hard the accelerator is pushed. It also controls the rate at which the cylinders fire, and when the cooling fans turn on and off. The speedometer also gets its information from the computer. The trucks pump uses the computer to tell it how much water it is flowing and how much it has flowed. The mixture of foam concentrate is also controlled by a computer. The power systems are monitored by computers and at any point a computer can be connected to the Engine and any of the parameters can be changed or modified. Ladder trucks and Towers use computers to control their sticks (ladders). Rescue trucks use them to monitor air supply, keep track of vital signs on a patient or even to shock the patient back to life. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) extend the capabilities of maps, making them intelligent, interactive maps with all sorts of information available on them.
When responding to calls of gaseous odors or carbon monoxide alarms activated, we rely on the use of a four-gas meter.
This meter is essentially a small handheld computer that monitors the atmosphere that it is in and determines the levels of four pre-calibrated gases to indicate to the firefighter is it is safe to be there or not. It helps us to detect faulty heating appliances by telling us if the appliance is burning its fuel completely or not. Without these gas meters a simple call would turn into a two hour ordeal while we tried to find out what was wrong instead of being able to look at the screen and see exactly what we …show more content…
have.
Communication is one of the most important aspects of a successful mitigation of a fire incident. The ability to communicate with each other, dispatch, and incident command is very important to the life safety of all personnel on scene. The radios we use to establish this communication are all a result of the advancements in computer technology. The radios broadcast over a bandwidth, bounce off repeaters, and display information right on the screen of dispatch computers. All of our radios, portable or base, are programmed using computer software.
Computers are used in the firehouse as well. Creating everyday documents, incident reports, or even updating the fire department website are all daily activities we use computers for in the fire service. We keep track of all the vehicle and equipment maintenance, training documents, personnel records and payroll using computers. Currently there is an app for my smartphone called IAMResponding. This app is used as a dispatch tool to call in off duty personnel. Both the fire department I work for and the Technical Rescue team I am on use this app. If you don’t have a smartphone the system still will call your regular phone or send a text message and email to you. There is another app called EDispatch, this app calls you and plays the dispatch message over your phone. It’s completely automated and controlled by a computer system.
Fire alarm systems are also utilizing today’s technology. In my city we just replaced all of our hardwired call boxes with digital dialers. This means that when the alarms at a monitored building activate, the dialer “calls” the dispatch center and the alarm message pops up on dispatches computer screen. Occupants don’t even have to call 911, although we still encourage you to call the number.
Computers and the technology associated with them are constantly evolving. The future of the fire service will undoubtedly be inundated with this technology. The other day I was looking through a fire service magazine and saw an ad for a special helmet. This helmet had a flip-down eye shield that displayed certain information for the firefighter to use. Information like room temp, direction of travel, amount of air left in his SCBA, and even thermal imaging so that the firefighter can see through the smoke. I believe that before too long we will have systems that integrate building plans, thermal imaging, GPS tracking and a whole assortment of information for firefighters to use and make our jobs just that little bit easier.
References
02, J.
(1999, July 2). Firefighters Use Computers to Prevent Flames. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 24, 2014, from http://articles.latimes.com/1999/jul/02/local/me-52206
GIS Technology and Applications for the Fire Service . (n.d.). ESRI. Retrieved May 5, 2014, from http://www.esri.com/library/whitepapers/pdfs/fire-service-gis-applications.pdf
ICMA: Leaders at the Core of Better Communities. (n.d.). How Police and Fire Department Use Computers For Training. Retrieved March 24, 2014, from http://icma.org/en/BlogPost/1568/How_Police_and_Fire_Department_Use_Computers_For_Training
Kleane, B. J., & Sanders, R. E. (2008). Structural firefighting: strategy and tactics (2nd ed.). Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
News. (2010, August 15). New system shaves time for Rialto Fire Department. Retrieved March 24, 2014, from http://www.sbsun.com/general-news/20100816/new-system-shaves-time-for-rialto-fire-department
Raney, R. (1998, October 14). Fighting Fire With Technology as Computers Help Out. The New York Times. Retrieved March 24, 2014, from
http://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/15/technology/fighting-fire-with-technology-as-computers-help-out.html